Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Hurricane Katrina

New Orleans has been ordered evacuated, though the potential for loss of life, particularly in the poorer communities remains. Right now the category five hurricane (the strongest on the
Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale) with its 28 foot storm surge is just off the coast and is headed directly for New Orleans.
Another problem with Katrina is that about one third of the oil that comes into the U.S. goes through the city. Offshore, one million barrels a day in production have ceased. Refineries will likely close. Al this means that the price of oil will likely hit $70+ per barrel. A further problem with this is that there is a potential ecological disaster from the oil and chemical industry in the region.

Update: Katrina has been downgraded to a category 4, though it is still a major storm.
Update: The top of the Superdome, being used as a shelter for over 10,000 people, now has a hole about 1/12 the total size of the whole roof.
Update: It seems as though one of the levies has been significantly breached and that New Orleans is flooding.